Increasing workflow efficiencies and reducing operational costs with NEMT software

Over the next four years, the global market for Emergency Medical Services Software (EMSS) is projected to grow to $373 million, an increase of more than $107 million from this year.

It’s momentum that may be fueled by a larger industry buy-in of the value of increasing non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) efficiencies, improving customer service and service quality, and reducing operational costs by streamlining core functions through technology, further accelerated by healthcare agency accountability for patient flow through the U.S. health system.

If you’re an NEMT or paratransit service, moving from manual data entries from paper and disconnected word processing and spreadsheet programs to automated NEMT software can save your business valuable operational dollars and ultimately help you deliver services more efficiently with improved customer satisfaction.

NEMT scheduling and dispatching software, like TripMaster, can help you communicate more easily with your riders, schedule trips, handle fares and other payment services, improve route efficiencies, and give you immediate, real time looks into your fleet no matter where your vehicles are, anytime, day or night.

A Case Study in Efficiency

In 2018, Ohio-based South East Area Transit (SEAT) added TripMaster, powered by CTS Software, to its operations.

Let’s take a quick look at the previous year, before SEAT implemented TripMaster. In 2017:

• SEAT’s total labor costs were $1,182,444
• The average per-passenger total was $8.57
• The company average about 1.2 passengers each hour
• Increased OTP ratings that exceed ADA standards

After implementing NEMT software, SEAT had access to reporting tools that enabled it to review, identify, and make adjustments to operational areas where it had challenges, including an On-Time Performance (OTP) record of less than 75%.

OTP plays an important role in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations. With ADA requirements, transportation companies have a scheduling window where they can negotiate pick-up times with their riders, but those times cannot exceed an hour before or after needed pick-up times.

Providers are encouraged to schedule these times where the latest possible arrival time for a rider to get to an intended destination ensures each customer gets to where they need to be on time. The earliest departure time is similar, where the time block is within an hour after the time the person is able to depart from his/her location.

NEMT scheduling software enabled SEAT to correctly implement OTP time parameters. In 2018, its OTP rating increased to 96.2% and met ADA standards.

Here are a few other ways the software helped SEAT reduce costs and improve efficiencies. In 2018:

• SEAT decreased total labor costs to $1,057,057 (a savings of $125,387 year over year)
  • An interesting point here, the company also added two full-time drivers and one part-time driver and still had significant operational savings after implementing the software.
• Per-passenger total decreased to $7.23 (a savings of $1.34 per passenger from 2017)
• Almost tripled the number of passengers using services from 1.2 an hour in 2017 to 4.6 in 2018 (an increase of 3.4 passengers per hour)

Additionally, by using TripMaster’s Rider Portal with local agencies, SEAT signed several new contracts and, on average, completed 300 same-day trips each month.

SEAT’s scheduling variance from 2017 to 2018 increased 41% with an increase of 12% in passengers taken.

SEAT’s case study is one example of many where agencies are improving the way they do business and saving money by adopting NEMT scheduling and dispatch software.

Another company recently told the TripMaster team that its software allowed it to cut its workload in half.

While increasing efficiencies and improving services is an important part of NEMT services, the ultimate goal is to break down barriers to transportation for the elderly and people with disabilities.

According to the National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, almost 4 million U.S. adults miss or delay medical appointments because they have transportation issues. When it comes to further quantifying that, one study indicates those missed appointments cost the U.S. healthcare system more than $150 billion each year.

But it’s more than just dollars.

Missed medical appointments may also have a negative impact on riders’ health and missed transportation to other services can further have negative implications on their overall quality of life.

A study from AthenaHealth indicates that for patients who have one or more no-shows for an appointment, they are 32% more likely to not return to that practice within 18 months, which ultimately negatively impacts their course of treatment, which in turn, increases overall healthcare costs and quality of life.

NEMT software helps break down transportation barriers by facilitating multi-device (phone or online) trip scheduling for riders and facilitating easier communication between those riders and your company. It helps your agency improve operational functions, so you deliver better quality services to those customers who depend on you.

Are you ready to get more insight into your comprehensive NEMT operations? Are you ready to add a full-service transit suite to your operations to improve workflow efficiencies and reduce operational costs? Find out how the industry’s top-rated NEMT software can help your public or private NEMT company operate more efficiently.